


Always

by OMGLordZed



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-04 14:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1782022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGLordZed/pseuds/OMGLordZed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inuyasha is a business man with no desire to run the family business, known for his mean streak and sour attitude. Inuyasha becomes the object of many people's hatred. Kagome is a mother of two, doing everything she can to give her children a better life. But when Inuyasha suffers an accident and loses all memory of the last ten years, can Kagome show him what love is or will Inuyasha's past ruin a second chance he was given at life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Therefore, there's no need to sue me or any of that nonsense. Thank you!**

**.xx.**

　

Takahashi Inuyasha slammed his fists down onto the table, startling everyone in the conference room. He growled loudly, his silver hair had been pulled into a ponytail, but his bangs had now fallen in front of his face. His golden eyes were filled with anger. He eyed the accounting team of his business angrily, "You're telling me that you misplaced 2.3 million dollars and you have no fucking idea where it is!?" His voice was thunderous in the small room, causing most of his employees to shrink back in their seats.

　

"Mr. Takahashi, Sir. If I may ease your worries. We have a good assumption that one of our clients sent their reports incorrectly, completely throwing off our reports as well." The Head of Accounting, Jin Takada, stated standing from his seat, not looking Inuyasha completely in his eyes.

　

"Is that so, Takada?" Inuyasha growled mockingly, "Well, I'd hope so. You have until Friday to figure out what happened and correct it, or everyone in accounting will need to look for a new job! Now get out of my conference room! All of you!" Inuyasha yelled again, causing everyone to scatter from the room quickly. _Nothing but a bunch of useless imbeciles._ Inuyasha growled to himself as he exited the conference room and made his way to his office. Everyone in the hallway ducked out of Inuyasha's way as he passed. Inuyasha ignored all the dirty looks he received on the way to his office. He stopped out side his office door, "Everyone get back to work or you're all fired!" He entered his office and slammed the door behind him.

　

He hated the business his father had left for him to run. Takahashi Global Enterprise. His father's business reached every corner of the world when Inuyasha took over, now, TGE did business in over 100 countries including Japan, China, USA and England. Anything that could be marketed and sold, TGE had a grip on. Electronics was TGE's specialty though. The company raked in nearly 14 million USD a month from electronics alone. Inuyasha had been the CEO of TGE for the last ten years. He took over when he was 24, and has hated every single second of it. He sighed then signed into his account to check his schedule for the rest of the day.

　

His schedule had been completely full since the second he walked into the building four hours ago, it was now noon, and his busy day was far from over. It seems like he never got a break from TGE, even when he was at home or on vacation he always got some kind of business call. Inuyasha growled at how busy his schedule was. He had enough to do as it was, but he refused to drop his workload onto someone else and look weak and incapable. He pushed the button to his intercom.

　

 _Yes, Takahashi, sir?_ His Head Secretary Yura asked over the intercom.

　

"Can you come to my office, Yura?" Inuyasha was siging off on reports as he spoke to her.

　

Yes sir. Be right there.

　

Inuyasha continued to sign reports when Yura walked into his office. Inuyasha noticed she looked exceptionally pretty today. Her usually long, black hair had been cut to just below her chin and it framed her face perfectly. Her lips shined against the light, causing him to stare momentarily. _I never noticed how beautiful Yura really is._ Inuyasha thought to himself. Yura noticed his staring and cleared her throat.

　

"What can I do for you, sir?" Yura asked putting her hands together in front of her, unintentionally squeezing her breasts together, which Inuyasha also noticed. _You know, if Inuyasha wasn't such an asshole, he'd be a great guy. He's already fuckable. He's so damn gorgeous, it's inhuman._

　

Inuyasha held out some reports he had yet to go over, "Take these over to Takada. These are his reports not mine, and tell Lin to call me. I need to talk to him." Yura took the reports from him and noticed all the paperwork he had sitting on his desk. She felt bad for him, and Inuyasha didn't miss the look of pity in her eyes and it made his blood boil.

　

"Sir, if you would like, I could take some of those reports and scan through them when I have spare time?" Her voice was soft, which only made Inuyasha madder.

　

"No, it's fine." Inuyasha mumbled through clenched teeth.

　

"Well, is there anything else I can do for you, sir?" Yura stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. She could tell he was extremely stressed and just wanted to help him, and surprisingly, he was being nice to her today.

　

"Actually, yes." He looked at her angrily, "Get the fuck out of my office. You're pissing me off." Inuyasha shook her hand off him, and went back to his reports.

　

Yura huffed and was about to yell at Inuyasha but decided against it. "Asshole." She muttered under her breath, leaving the office and slamming the door behind her. _Sometimes, I wish he'd get hit by a bus._ Yura walked down the hallway in a rage.

　

Inuyasha didn't feel bad for getting mad at Yura. He refused to accept pity from anyone, not even his family or friends, which he didn't have many of. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He had sat in this chair a majority of the last ten years, and he had almost no friendly social interaction, except with Miroku Lin, which even that was rocky sometimes. Inuyasha remembered when his life used to be fun and less stressful, but that was just after high school when he went to college. He stared at the painting he had in college, now hanging in his office. Everyone always complimented the 'fine piece of art' he hung in his office, but he refused to let anyone know that is was he who painted it.

　

The painting was of his father portrayed as a Inu-Yokai, Dog-Demon, General. The way it was done was absolutely marvelous. Swirls of purple and crimson surrounded his father, his father's hair whipped around his body and his eyes were a blood red. Ancient markings lined his body and from his chest a beam of light expanding, almost like a hologram, into the Great Dog Demon. The painting had been a project in college that took Inuyasha nearly five months to complete, but his father never saw it. He saw Inuyasha's passion for art a waste of time, and forced him to take over the family business.

　

_Inutaisho paced around the den, fury eminating from his very being. Inuyasha stood back from his father, scared that he might snap. "I will not have my son wasting his time on these paintings!" Inu No Taisho yelled at Inuyasha's mother who was trying to calm him down._

_"Sesshomaru is a heart surgeon! Not a business man!" Inuyasha yelled back._

_"Your brother chose an occupation worth while! Not stupid paintings!" Inutaisho's eyes flashed with anger. His hands were curled into fists, and his lips had curled from anger._

_"But, Father I-"_

_"ENOUGH!" Inutaisho slammed his hands down onto a small table in the den, cracking it in half, "You are a Takahashi! And, it's time you started acting like one, Inuyasha!"_

　

Inuyasha's blood boiled thinking about that day. He had tried convincing his father how much being an artist had meant to him, but his father ignored everything Inuyasha had to say on the subject. Weeks later, Inuyasha dropped out of college and informed his father of his decision to take over the family business. Inu No Taisho was finally proud of one of Inuyasha's decisions, but the joy was short lived. Days after Inuyasha told his father his decision, Inu No Taisho fell ill with a rare disease that slowly caused his brain to stop all functions. Inuyasha had never gotten a chance to show his father the painting he had done of him, or to even tell him, that even after all the agruing they had done, that Inuyasha loved him.

　

Inuyasha wiped the tears from his eyes, just as a knock came from his door, "Come in." Miroku pushed open the door slowly. "Take a seat, Miroku." Inuyasha pointed at the chair across from him. Miroku was still in his chef's uniform and wore a big grin on his face. "What can I do for you?"

　

Miroku rested his hands in his lap, "Well, I left the restaraunt early today, so I thought I'd come by to see how things were going."

　

"Things are stupid here. Same dumb shit it's been for the last ten years." Inuyasha shoved all the reports into one of his desk drawers. "Any chance you want to go back to the restaraunt and get a bite to eat? I'm starving."

　

Miroku grinned at his best friend, "Yeah, sure. It'll be my treat."

　

"It better be your treat, you own the damn place!"

　

"Only because of you!" Miroku chuckled along with Inuyasha, as they left his office. They strode down the hallway towards Yura's desk, where Miroku stopped and gazed over her body. "You look lovely today, Yura." Miroku smiled at seductively.

　

Yura lowered her face to try to hide that blush that had crept across her face, "T-Thank you, Mr. Lin." Miroku had taken her hand and planted a kiss on it.

　

"Enough." Inuyasha slapped Miroku across his head, "Stop flirting with my secretary. She has work to do." Inuyasha turned to Yura, who averted her gaze. "I need you to run through the reports in my desk, and sort them out by department and have ready for me in the morning."

　

"Yes sir." Yura still refused to look at her asshole boss.

　

"And here," Inuyasha held out money for Yura, "Get yourself a nice lunch. You might be here awhile." He left the money on her desk and walked off with Miroku.

　

Yura stared at the money. _Maybe, he's not such a jerk after all._ Yura smiled to herself until she remembered the giant stack of reports Inuyasha had on his desk when she was in his office earlier. "TAKAHSHI!! YOU BASTARD!" She screamed at the top of her lungs causing some of the other employees to come out of their offices and stare at her.

　

**.xx.**

　

Kagome pushed herself off the couch when her six year old son, Shiro, came bounding downstairs and began to complain he was hungry. Shiro's violet eyes sparkled against the light, and he pouted at his mother.

　

"Where's your sister?" Kagome mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She worked at a small restaraunt as a waitress and they had kept her four hours after her shift ended. She came home and found that her mom had already put the kids to sleep. Kagome didn't bother going to her room but instead passed out in the living room. That was only five hours ago, she was still exhausted.

　

"Probably, still asleep Momma." Shiro tugged on Kagome's hand trying to get her into the kitchen. "I want doughnuts!"

　

"Shiro, you're not getting-" Kagome paused as a loud yawn escaped her lips, "Doughnuts for breakfast. Mommy doesn't have the money right now." Shiro pouted and instantly, Kagome began to feel bad. "I have to go back to work in a couple of hours, so I'll get off early. How about I take you and Sakura out for ice cream when I get back?" Shiro's eyes widened with joy and he nodded his head wildly.

　

"Okay, Mommy!" Shiro bounced out of the living room and into the kitchen. Soon, after, Kagome's five year old daughter, Sakura, came stumbling down the steps still half asleep. Sakura's long hair was completely tangled and going in all directions. She stumbled over to Kagome and crawled into her lap.

　

"Good morning, Mommy." Sakura mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

　

"Good morning, sweetheart." Kagome said, planting a kiss on the girl's cheek. "Did you sleep well?" Sakura nodded her head.

　

"I missed you. I wanted to stay up and wait for you but Grandma said I needed to go to bed." Sakura pouted, making Kagome giggle.

　

"Well, Grandma was right, baby. You need to sleep. How else do you expect to grow big and strong like Mommy?" Kagome kissed the girl's cheek again. "Now, why don't you go into the kitchen with your brother and tell Grandma to make you something nice?" Sakura nodded her head and scooted off to the kitchen. It was 11 in the morning, and Kagome had to be at work by 1. She pushed herself from the couch and began the long journey up the stairs to the bathroom. Once there, she looked at her reflections and cringed. Dark circle had developed beneath her eyes, her face was horribly pale, and her hair was tangledd to extremes. Kagome did not look nor feel twenty-eight. She looked closer to fourty and felt sixty. Disgusted with the way she looked, she quickly washed her face and painfully, detangled her raven black locks.

　

"Kagome!" Kagome's mother, Korari called from the kitchen, "Are you going to eat before you go, sweetheart?"

　

"I don't have time, Mom!" Kagome called back, trying her best to freshen up her face. She stumbled over to her room and collected het spare waitress uniform, which consisted of, a white button up dress shirt, black dress pants, and a black vest. She quickly changed into her uniform and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. _At least now I don't look dead._ She exited the bathroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

　

"Are you sure you can't stay and eat?" Korari looked at her daughter with soft eyes.

　

"I wish I could, but I can't." She walked over to her children and gave them quick kisses on their cheeks. "I have to go. You two behave for Grandma! Bye! Love you!" Kagome darted from the house and down the shrine steps. She always forced to leave her home at least an hour before she had to be at work because she had to walk. Her friend, Sango, always offered her a ride to work, but Kagome always refused. She didn't want to burden Sango with having to drive across town just to pick her up. Kagome looked up at the sky, it had grown gray with clouds, and the day was beginning to darken. Kagome let out a long sigh.

　

 _It's going to be a long day._ Kagome thought to herself, before beginning her long walk to the restaraunt.

　

**.xx.**

　

Inuyasha and Miroku entered Miroku's restaraunt, _Shikon No Tama,_ and were escorted to the best seats in the place. Miroku thanked his employee and then the young woman excused herself. They sat in silence while Inuyasha looked over the menu.

　

"Yura said you needed to talk to me?" Miroku asked fiddling with the cloth napkin on the table.

　

"Actually, yes." Inuyasha set the menu down, and stared at his best friend, "How long have I been the CEO of TGE?"

　

Miroku instantly answered, "A couple of months before you were supposed to graduate art school."

　

"Okay, and have I seemed-" At that moment, a waitress arrived to take their orders. She was a nice looking young lady. Grey eyes, long brown hair, high cheekbones, slender waist. She eye Miroku hungrily then turned her attention to Inuyasha.

　

"What can I get you handsome gentlemen?" Her voice was bubbly and full of joy, which made Inyasha the exact opposite.

　

"I'll take a bowl of ramen and beer." Inuyasha stated, pushing the menu into the waitress' hand.

　

"And for you, sir?" She eyed Miroku up and down, causing him to grin.

　

"Just a beer. Thank you" The waitress nodded and left the two to continue their conversation. "You were saying?"

　

"Have I seemed happy running the place?" Inuyasha kept his eyes on Miroku, hoping to see some kind of sign that he knew where Inuyasha was taking this talk.

　

"Well, no, but everyone knew that the second you accepted the position. It wasn't exactly a big secret, Yash."

　

"So, why am I still there, Miro?" Inuyasha took a gulp of the beer the waitress had just brought to them, "I mean, honestly? I hate that place. I spend sixteen hours a day in that place and I've done that for the last ten years!" Inuyasha balled his fist and slightly hit the table. Miroku sat there, unphased by Inuyasha's actions.

　

"Because, it was what your father wanted, and if I know you as well as I think I do, you won't leave based on that simple fact."

　

"But, it's not what I wanted from my life! I was perfectly content painting my 'stupid pictures' but no," Inuyasha made quotation marks with his fingers as he spoke, "I got stuck with this damn business."

　

Miroku eyed Inuyasha carefully, "Is there a reason all of this is surfacing again?" Inuyasha sat back and his chair, lowering his gaze from Miroku, and mumbled something Miroku couldn't hear.

　

"What was that?" Miroku sat forward, trying to catch Inuyasha's words.

　

"I'm thinking about selling the company." Inuyasha repeated a little louder than last time.

　

"Inuyasha..." Miroku said exasparated.

　

"Come on, Miro. I've worked there long enough! I have enough money to last me nine lifetimes. I don't need to stay there any longer."

　

"What'll your Sesshomaru say? Your mother?" Miroku questioned his friend, "I know you hate that place, but deal with it for now. Talk to your mother first before doing anything rash. Your father was hell-bent on keeping this business in the family for a reason. Whatever that reason was, I don't know, but maybe you'll find out soon. Just stick around for a bit longer. Things might lighten up." Miroku reached over and patted his friend's shoulder. Inuyasha nodded and forgot the entire thing.

　

Inuyasha thanked Miroku for the food as he exited the restaraunt, then looked up at the sky. It was beginning to drizzle, but he didn't mind. He loved the rain. It was one of the few things that managed to make Inuyasha happy.

　

_Inuyasha sat in his dorm at the art school, it was acouple of months into his graduating year. The rain pounded the windows relentlessly and thunder shook the building. Inuyasha sat in the study of his dorm painting his first school project that required him to paint a portrait of someone he admired. Inuyasha had picked his father as the subject of his assignment. Inuyasha was more than satisfied with the way it was coming out. Inuyasha portrayed his father as the legendary Dog General from one of his many mythology lessons. Inuyasha paused for a moment to admire his work when his roommate, Miroku, knocked on the study door._

_"Yo, we gotta go bro. Your mom expects us at the house soon." Miroku said before darting away to gather his things. Inuyasha nodded silently, before stepping away from the painting of his father._

When Inuyasha returned from his thoughts, the rain had begun to pour down on him and he welcomed it with open arms. The rain soaked him entirely, his hair stuck to his face and neck, his clothes had become drenched within seconds and he didn't mind. He walked back to his Jaguar and slowly got in. He listened to the rain beat against his car for several minutes before he decided to turn it on. He pulled away from the curb and began to drive to his condo in downtown. He had been driving a good while when he spotted a woman running in the rain. She was completely drenched and it looked like she was on her way to work. Immediately, Inuyasha pulled the car to the side of the road, honked his horn and rolled down the window.

　

"Hey! Are you crazy!? You're gonna get sick walking in this! Get in!" Inuyasha yelled out of the open window. The woman didn't bother to ask any questions and quickly slipped into his car. Inuyasha was shocked at how gorgeous the woman was, even completely soaked. Her big, beautiful, brown eyes hypontized him and her wet hair cascaded down her neck drawing his attention to it. An urge to put his lips against her slender neck swelled inside him but quickly, he pushed it aside.

　

Finally, the girl turned to him. "Thank you so much. I thought I was going to be able to make it to work before it started raining." She placed her bag between her legs and smiled at him, holding out her hand. "I'm Kagome." Inuyasha took her hand and shook it slightly.

　

"It's a pleasure." He kept his eyes forward. "Where are you headed?"

　

"I don't get a name?"

　

"My name isn't necessary." Kagome rolled her eyes at his response but ignored it. "So, where are you headed?"

　

"Fujimi Diner." Kagome pulled her hair forward over her shoulder to keep it from soaking the seat. Inuyasha nodded silently, acknowledging that he heard her. The rest of the drive was silent. Although, Inuyasha would steal glances at the beautiful woman he had in his car every so often. As they pulled up to the diner, Kagome let out a sigh of relief. "Well, thank you again." She said gathering her stuff and opening the door.

　

"Not a problem." Inuyasha gave her a slight smile that sent chills down her spine.

　

"Uh, I'll see you around?" It was more like a question rather than a statement. Kagome stared into the gorgeous golden eyes of the man that saved her from the rain. Even though, the ride was silent, she enjoyed his company. _What the hell is wrong with me? I don't even know his name!_

　

"Honestly, I wouldn't count on it." Inuyasha shut the door and drove off without another word to Kagome. Inuyasha watched the girl in his rearview until she disappeared from sight. _I could definitely get used to seeing her on a daily basis._ Inuyasha grinned to himself as he continued his drive to his condo.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Therefore, there's no need to sue me or any of that nonsense. Thank you!**

 

**.xx.**

 

Kagome sighed heavily after getting inside the diner. It was freezing inside, and the fact that she was soaking wet didn't make it any better. She shivered uncontrolably as she walked to the back to dump her stuff with Sango's, surprised that she hadn't seen her yet. On cue, Sango came bounding into the back, throwing herself onto her friend.

"Wow, you're soaked, babygirl." Sango peeled herself away from her friend, looking at her clothes. "Why didn't you call me before you left your house?"

Kagome shrugged, "I thought I could make it here before the rain got too bad." Kagome dropped her bag into Sango's locker. "It would have been so much worse if I hadn't gotten a ride from some guy." Kagome tried to think of a better way to put that, but she couldn't.

"Some guy?" Sango raised a brow at her.

"Yeah, some guy. He was nice enough to stop and pick me up, but he never gave me his name." Kagome thought about the gorgeous, golden eyed, silver haired man that had given her a ride. "He was so gorgeous, Sango. It was unbelievable. There's no way somebody can be that sexy and be straight. It's just not possible." Kagome went into full detail, describing the man that had given her the ride, and Sango was going weak at the knees just thinking about him.

"That man sounds beautiful. Oh, the things I would do to him in my bed." She sighed heavily, "But, I can never meet a decent men, ever." Kagome giggled.

"Aw, come on, Sango. Not every guy you date is a total freak." Kagome teased her friend. Sango had a lot of trouble with guys lately. They were either overly clingy, some kind of stalker, or extremely perverted.

"Yeah, right. And my tits are small." Sango replied sarcastically, gripping at her large breasts.

"Well, yours are bigger than mine! So be happy about that!"

"Just barely! And your ass is way bigger than mine!" Sango laughed, slapping Kagome on the butt. Kagome squealed and followed Sango out to the floor. The diner was a fairly decent size, capable of seating nearly 500 people at once, but rarely did it get full. Currently, Kagome had five tables waiting for her and Sango only had three.

 _I was right. It's going to be a long day._ Kagome dropped her head, with a sigh. The first table she went to was an elderly couple. They were celebrating their 49th anniversary by coming to the place they first met. Kagome happily took their order and congratulated them. Her next table was a group of rude, rich teenagers. They teased her and order so many different things, and then changed what they ordered, it angered her. _If only, I could beat the crap outta rude people. My life would be so easy!_ Kagome finally managed to get their order taken and quickly walked away. At Kagome's final table was beautiful, cream skin woman, and a long, brown mane that fell in layers. Her greyish-green eyes studied the menu intently, even as Kagome walked up.

The woman looked up at Kagome with a warm, friendly smile. Kagome returned her smile happily then said, "Hello, how are you doing today?"

"I'm doing great. I could do without the rain messing up my hair though."

"I know, I had to walk in that mess. Not the greatest experience of my life." The woman giggled, which made Kagome feel at ease. "My name's Kagome and I'm going to be your waitress. What can I get for you?"

The woman looked at the menu one more time before answering, "A sweet tea, and the Sirloin, done medium-rare, and onions, but I want a baked potato instead of the rice." The woman smiled up at Kagome, and she jotted down everything she had been told.

"Okay, I'll have that out for you soon and I'll be right back with your tea." Kagome took the menu from the lady and the woman mouth 'Thank you'.

"Kagome! Come here for a sec!" It was Kagome's boss, Morimoto, nobody knew his first name, they never bothered to find out either.

"Coming!" Kagome slipped into the kitchen really quick, told the cook her order and walked to her boss' office. "Yeah boss?"

"I need you to work the night shift tomorrow. Yukari had an emergency and had to leave town. She won't be back for a couple of days, so I need you to cover her shifts." Kagome stared at her boss with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"But, Morimoto, I'm supposed to start morning shift this week."

"Well, you'll have to cover both shifts then." Morimoto said without a second care.

"That's almost 16 hours!" Kagome clenched her fists. This man didn't care about anything but his money.

"I'm sorry, but you'll just have to suck it up." Morimoto shooed her from his office with a wave of his hand. Kagome stormed from his office, grabbed a glass of tea and walked back out onto the floor. The woman spotted Kagome, but she instantly knew something was wrong with her.

"Are you okay, dear?" The woman said as Kagome set down her tea.

"Yes, I-I just really hate my boss right now."

The woman looked at her seriously, "Sit down." She gestured from the seat across from her. Kagome was about to refuse but the woman took her hand and led her to the chair.

"I really shouldn't be sitting down. I'll get in trouble."

"Let me handle that. What happened with your boss?" The woman sipped her tea quietly, waiting for to Kagome to explain.

"He's just a jerk. I was supposed to start working morning shift this week but one of our other waitresses had to leave town for a couple of days, and now I have to cover her shifts as well while she's gone. Which is like 16 hour days!" Kagome sighed and sunk into her chair.

"It sounds like you need a new job, sweetheart." The woman giggled at her. "My name's Rin." The woman held out her hand, which Kagome happily shook.

"I do need a new job, but I make decent money here, and I really can't afford to work for less because of my children." Kagome ran her long, slender fingers through her black mane.

"Oooh, children! I love children! Tell me about them!"

"Well, I have a six year old boy named, Shiro. He's a little ball of energy. He's like the damn Energizer bunny, I swear! Then, there's my four year old daughter, Sakura. She's a real mommy's girl. She always wants to do everything I do, or stay up late and wait for me to come home from work."

"They sound delightful." Rin smiled at Kagome. "See? You need a job that'll focus around you and your family. What's the point of working your ass off for your family if you never get to see them?" Kagome shrugged. "I mean, your job should make a schedule that'll fit your life, not the life of their company. That's the problem with businesses these days, no care for their employees whatsoever." Rin sipped her tea once again and continued, "Tell me, Kagome. What do you want to do with your life?"

Kagome stared blankly at Rin, she had been rambling for nearly ten minutes about business and related subjects before finally taking a breath, "Uh, I never really thought about it. After I finished high school, I went to Cullinary school, but dropped out when I had Shiro. Then I started taking waitressing jobs and have been doing that ever since. I never really have time to do anything besides work now. I feel terrible because I never spend time with my kids." Kagome's eyes teared up slightly thinking about her two kids.

"Where's their father? If you don't mind me asking."

Kagome dropped her eyes to the table, shaking her head slightly. "He disappeared a month or so after Sakura was born. We had problems before Shiro was born and he had left for awhile then, but he came back. Things were good until he found out that I was pregnant with Sakura. I haven't seen or heard from him since." Kagome plastered a vague smile on her face, "I don't regret a single second of that relationship because it gave me my beautiful kids."

Rin took Kagome's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You don't need to be in this place, dear."

"Higurashi!" It was Morimoto yelling from the kitchen, "I didn't hire you to sit and talk to customers! You have other tables!"

"I'm sorry, I really have to go-" Kagome went to stand but Rin caught her arm.

"Sit." Rin eyed her sternly, "Now." There's was something in Rin's eyes that told Kagome that she didn't want to disobey her. So, she sat and waited for her boss to yell more, but it was Rin that started yelling. "Morimoto! Come out here now!" Morimoto stuck his bald held out from behind the kitchen door, eyeing Rin carefully.

"Who are you?" He asked as he walked up, grinning at Rin dumbly.

"That doesn't matter right now. I've been sitting here talking to this lovely lady," Rin gestured at Kagome, who was dark red from blushing. Everyone in the place had turned their attention to them, "And she has informed me of the schedule you gave her for the next few days."

"What I do with my employess and their schedules is my business." Morimoto growled at Rin, but she only smiled.

"Now, that may be true, but I think I could offer her alot better." She turned to Kagome with a smile, "Let's say, triple the pay, with half the hours, plus tips." Kagome's eyes widened.

 _This lady can't be serious. There's just no way. I don't have that kind of luck._ Kagome began to shake her head, but Rin stopped her.

"Sounds too good to be true for a woman in situation, doesn't it? But, it's all true." Rin glared at Morimoto, "Did you even know she has children that this job keeps her from?" Morimoto shook his head angrily, "I didn't think so. You care nothing for the employees you hire here, only the money you can make off of them. Therefore, Miss Kagome, I am offering you a job." Rin smiled evilly at Morimoto then back to Kagome. "My name is Rin Takahashi." Morimoto's eyes widened as he recognized the name, "I'm the General Manager of the most successful restaraunt in town. Shikon No Tama."

Kagome's swelled up with tears and her cheeks got puffy, "This can't be real."

"Oh, but it is. Sweetheart. Every bit of it." Rin looked at Morimoto and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "I'd like you to come tomorrow at noon. You can meet the owner and some of the employees. Now, go home. This is no longer your job." With that, Rin handed Kagome her tip and left the table. She never ate her food.

Kagome stood from the table. Her body was numb and her mind kept replaying the scene that just happened. Now, she has a new job. A better job, apparently, and she was going home after being at work a couple of hours. _At least now, I can take Shiro and Sakura out for ice cream. Maybe, Sango will take me home._ As she walked back to get her stuff, Sango pulled her aside into the freezer.

"What's this I hear about you quitting?" Sango's breath was visible in front of Kagome's face.

"I didn't quit, Sango. Some lady offered me a job. Well, it wasn't really an offer. She told me to show up tomorrow at Shikon No Tama at noon." Kagome started to shiver from standing in the freezer for so long. "But, I was wondering if maybe you could give me a ride home?"

"No way! Let me go with you tomorrow! I'm off! Yeah, I'm leaving because it's slow anyway." Sango pushed Kagome out of the freezer, and they quickly went to gather their belongings.

"I'm going to work, Sango! Not to visit with Rin." Kagome stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Oh, fine. And I thought you loved me." Sango nudged Kagome's arm with a smile on her face.

"Oh, shut it, Sango!" Kagome slapped Sango's arm as they left the diner. Sango drove a little, beat up beetle. It's red paint had faded long ago, small dents covered a majority of the body and the right back window was cracked. The drive was filled conversation and laughter. Kagome's mind drifted back to the gorgeous man that had given her a ride earlier in the day. Just thinking about the man's beautiful, golden eyes made her blush heavily, which didn't go unnoticed by Sango. Kagome's mind fully wandered to tomorrow when she had to show up at Shikon No Tama. She's was both excited and scared about this opportunity that was thrust upon her in a sense, but even then, she refused to mess it up. This could change her life completely, but she'll let that worry her tomorrow.

.xx.

Inuyasha shut the door to his condo, threw his keys on the table, went to the fridge and popped open a beer. His condo was filled with his paintings. Most of the finished ones were hung on the walls, some sat in a pile because there was no wall space. Dozens of easels were set up throughout the condo, each one holding an unfinished painting or drawing. He never had vistors, except Miroku, so Inuyasha never bothered to put away any of the paintings or his supplies. This was his personal sanctuary, his haven. Miroku was the only person to set foot in his condo since he had first moved in nearly seven years ago, and he liked it that way. He didn't have to deal with people, he didn't have to deal with TGE, all he worried about were his paintings.

The rain had lightened up, but Inuyasha could still hear it lightly splash against his windows. He stopped and stared at one painting that he had begun his first year at art school. It was a painting of his ex-girlfriend Kikyo. She was surrounded by streaks of white, pink and red. She stood naked against the colors, but covered up in a way the was so elegant. She look positively radiant and beautiful. Behind her, Inuyasha had begun to paint angel wings, but he had redone it many times over the years, simply because he felt it was never good enough.

_Inuyasha sat painting swirls of blue and green around Kikyo's naked body on the canvas. He was painting the portrait of Kikyo for their anniversary. They had been together since middle school, so Inuyasha wanted to do something special for her, and he thought she would love this. It was nearly two in the morning, and he had been painting for several hours already. He stood from his chair and grinned at his work so far._

_"I hope she loves this." Inuyasha said to himself as a soft knock sounded at the door, quickly slipping on a shirt, he walked over and answered the door. A gnawing feeling attacked his stomach as he opened the door fully, revealing to officers at his door._

_"Are you Inuyasha Takahashi?" One of the officers asked, showing his badge out of procedure._

_"Yes. Is there a problem officers?" Inuyasha eyed them questioningly, the feeling in his stomach getting worse._

_The officers shot each other a glance, then one spoke with a soft voice, "I'm sorry, Mr. Takahashi. It's Kikyo..."_

Inuyasha's whole world had come crashing down on him that night. The officers informed him that Kikyo had been on the way to the airport for her flight to Hong Kong, but had gotten sideswiped by a trailer, whose brakes had a failed. Kikyo didn't die on impact, but she had severe head trauma and internal bleeding. By the time rescue crews were able to pull her from the wreckage and put her in the ambulance, she was gone. Inuyasha wiped tears from his eyes as he thought of that night. After that, he tried everything he could to make the painting of Kikyo absolutely perfect. After nearly twelve years of painting the portrait, Inuyasha was pleased with the way it was turning out.

Inuyasha sat in front of one of the few blank canvases he had left, removing his shirt and tie so they wouldn't get dirty. He set up his paints and began to painting random swirls of yellow and purple along the edges of the canvas. Most of the time, Inuyasha painted the outer edges of the canvas first to decide what the portrait's subject would be. Inuyasha peered away from the canvas to the window, it was still early in the day but it looked as if it were dusk already. His pocket began to vibrate, which immediately ruined his mood.

"Takahashi." That was Inuyasha's answer for his phone. He never got personal calls. They were all business.

"Inuyasha. It's Sesshomaru." His brother's voice echoed through the receiver. Sesshomaru voice held no sign of emotion as he spoke to Inuyasha.

"What do you want?" His relationship with his brother was neither hostile nor friendly. There were only a few rare occasions when they showed their feelings to each other. The last time Sesshomaru showed any kind of feeling towards his brother was after the Kikyo accident.

"Mother wishes to see you at the merchant's market near your condo."

"It's raining. What is she doing out there?" Inuyasha had downed the rest of his beer, and began slipping into more comfortable clothes.

"I've no clue, brother. Just get down there and see what she wants." Before Inuyasha could reply, Sesshomaru had hung up. Inuyasha already knew why Sesshomaru called. Their mother had called Sesshomaru asking to see him down at the market, but instead Sesshomaru called Inuyasha and told him to go.

"Asshole." Inuyasha muttered to himself, grabbing his keys and darting out the door to meet his mother at the Merchant's Market about a mile or so from his condo.

.xx.

 

A rush hour hit Shikon No Tama a couple of hours after Miroku's lunch with Inuyasha. He was currently helping his gourmet chefs with the Italian cuisine. With nearly ten years of culinary arts school on his record, it was obvious that he had the most experience. Miroku was busy cooking an Italian dish, when a hostess walked back to the kitchen to find him.

"Sir, Rin is on the phone for you." The hostess, Kusano, yelled out to Miroku, not wanting to fully enter the kitchen.

"Thank you, Ku." He called back, then turned to Kasuke, the chef he was helping, "Can you handle this for a few minutes on your own?"

"Yes sir." Kasuke grinned up at Miroku, then began cutting a variety of vegetables for his next dish. Miroku nodded and strolled back to his office. His office was small, with a mahogany 'L' shaped desk in the center of the office, the walls were lined with filing cabinets, and pictures of various different landmarks filled all the remaining wall space.

Miroku sat behind his desk and picked up the phone, "Rin? Where are you?"

"Well, hello to you too, Miroku. I was out recruiting a new waitress." Rin was driving to the Takahashi Manor. She and Sesshomaru lived there with Izayoi, Inuyasha had moved out in college and never moved back. He felt it was less stress on him if he lived alone with his paintings.

"Rin, I already told you about doing that. You can't just go out and promise someone a job. They need to go through the application process." Miroku was rubbing his forehead.

"I know, Miroku, but this girl won't let us down. I can feel it. She told me alot about her and her family. I think this job will help her, and she has waiting experience. Just trust me, will you?"

"Fine, Rin. This is the last time you do that without consulting me first. The last three you brought to me were completely inexperienced. I'm all for giving people chances, but I can't afford to lose business over it. Inuyasha will chew my head off." Miroku remembered the last time Inuyasha found out what Rin had done. They both received the lecture from hell, consisting of lots of yelling on Inuyasha's part.

"Yeah, I remember. I was there. He's my brother-in-law, let me deal with him."

"He's also the reason we have this restaraunt." Two years after Miroku graduated Culinary school, Inuyasha bought and renovated an old building a few blocks away from TGE. After almost a year of renovation, Shikon No Tama was complete and was given to Miroku as a graduation gift. His very own restaraunt. The only condition that Inuyasha gave Miroku was that Rin was to be the General Manager. Shikon No Tama had become the most critically acclaimed location in the city, within months of it's grand opening, and it was because of Inuyasha that it was all possible.

"Rin, I need you to come in for a couple of hours. I had to send Matsu home." Miroku had logged into his computer and gone through Matsu's files. She had a habit of leaving early when things got really busy, but Miroku really like having her there. He rather fond of the attention she gave him, so he refused to fire her.

"Again? Miroku, you really need to stop letting her do that. I know she's going to call you later so she can 'make it up to you' for leaving early." Everyone knew Miroku had a weakness for beautiful women, and those women had no problem with letting Miroku have his way with them. "Just because a girl throws her pussy at you, doesn't mean she should get away with everything at work."

"Rin, I know you throw yourself at Sesshomaru when you want something from him. So, your agruement is invalid."

"That's different! He's my husband. I can throw my pussy at him all I want! And he'll accept it with open arms! Or sometimes an open mouth." Rin giggled on the other side of the receiver, while Miroku gagged.

"I really didn't need to know all that. So, can you come in or no?"

"Yes, I'll be there in a few."

"Thank you. See you in a bit." Miroku hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen. He stopped just before getting to his grill. He looked around at the most amazing gift he had ever been given. Inuyasha Takahashi was probably the most amazing friend that Miroku had. Miroku had told Inuyasha of his dreams of owning his own restaraunt years before he graduated Culinary school, and Inuyasha had made that dream come true, without any questions. People hated Inuyasha because of his bitter attitude, but he had only become bitter after being forced to run a multi-billion dollar corporation. If one was to look at Inuyasha, without knowing who he was, you would think he was another average guy. He didn't boast about his company, he didn't drive a fancy car, he didn't dress like a business man, unless he was at work. On top of everything else, Inuyasha secretly donated millions of dollars to charities around the globe. Only Miroku knew about the secret donations because Inuyasha refused to let anyone see him as weak.

Miroku smiled to himself, _Things will work out for Inuyasha. I just know it._ And with that last thought, Miroku returned to his grill that was now completely full with awaiting orders. "Kasuke!" Miroku shook his head as he began the process of catching up on his orders. _Damn, that boy._ Miroku grinned to himself, thinking of how he used to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Therefore, there's no need to sue me or any of that nonsense. Thank you!**

 

**.xx.**

 

Inuyasha stopped his car about four blocks from Merchant's Market. The market went for nearly three miles near the center of the city. Stalls lined the alleyway for almost the entire length of the market. The scent of cooking meat attacked Inuyasha's nose as he made his way into the market. Vendor's had stalls selling meats, cheeses or some other kind of food, just outside of their small cafes, where you could try the food they were selling or just enjoy a meal. There were vendors selling just about everything. If you could think of it, it was somewhere in this market. Izayoi only ever went to one vendor when she came to the market, which was a man around Inuyasha's age that sold ancient Japanese artifacts. Nobody knew how the man got them, but they obviously weren't stolen.

After walking for several minutes down the alley, Inuyasha spotted his mother standing beside a stall, scanning over the items the younger woman was selling. Izayoi instantly spotted Inuyasha from the corner of her eye. It was extremely had to miss Inuyasha's silver hair. She waved at him, and a smile crept across Inuyasha's face. Izayoi didn't look a day over thirty, so she always got mistaken as Inuyasha's sister instead of his mother.

"Mom, what are you doing out here? It's raining." Inuyasha stopped beside her, facing away from the stall she was at.

"I got bored of sitting at home. I'm assuming Sesshomaru told you I was here?"

Inuyasha nodded, "He said you wanted to talk to me, which I figured was a lie." Izayoi giggled a bit. Sesshomaru always sent Inuyasha to chat with their mother when she was bored.

"Well, thank you for coming to see me. I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks." Izayoi turned to Inuyasha finally, "I'm assuming work has been busy?"

"That's an understatement, Mother." Inuyasha shook his head. "You know how I feel about work."

"I know, Inuyasha." She placed her hand on his arm, "But, there's nothing we can do about it, sweetheart." Inuyasha grumbled at his Mother's response.

"Why couldn't Father dump the family business onto Sesshomaru?" They had been walking down the alley for several minutes, when something caught Inuyasha's eye. It was a vendor selling paintings, he seemed to have a massive collection of the local artists. What had really caught Inuyasha's eye was a picture in the back of the small room that the vendor was set up in front of. It was a painting of a woman and her two children playing in the park. She had gorgeous brown eyes, long, black raven hair, and cream colored skin. Her two children, a boy and a girl, were almost identical to her. Inuyasha had done the painting one day he had taken off from TGE and sat at the park doing random quick paintings. He remembered seeing the woman, swinging her children around and chasing them around trees. As he looked closer at the painting, he realized that he had just seen that woman recently, but he couldn't place where.

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Izayoi had noticed the faraway look in his eyes. He quietly nodded, then stepped forward to the vendor.

"How can I help you, sir?" The older man, maybe fifty or sixty, had stepped forward when he noticed Inuyasha staring into the room.

"How much for the painting on the back wall?" Inuyasha hadn't taken his eyes off the painting. It was the only painting that had escaped his grasp. He had left it at the park after receiving an urgent phone call from Yura, something about missing funds for one of their projects. Inuyasha rushed to TGE without bothering to gather up the painting, leaving it behind.

"400."

"I'll take it." Inuyasha pulled the money from his wallet and handed it to the man. The man grinned widely, then went to retreive the painting.

The man returned with the painting and looked over it, "This is an extraordinary work of art. I've been trying to locate the artist responsible for creating it for months, but I never found out. I guess I never will." Inuyasha grinned inwardly to himself, "Enjoy it."

Inuyasha nodded at the man, "I intend to." Inuyasha bid the man farewell, and turned back to his mother, who stared at him with her brow raised. "What?"

"Collecting paintings again?" She smiled at her son. She knew the love he had for art, and it broke her heart that he wouldn't share that passion with her.

"I just like this one. It's nice." Inuyasha did his best to avoid all talk of art with everyone except Miroku.

"If you say so." Izayoi walked ahead of him, holding her umbrella above her head.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about." Inuyasha said quietly, falling in stride with his mother. Inuyasha paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "I've been thinking about stepping down as CEO." Izayoi stopped dead in her tracks.

"What?" It was barely above a whisper, and that frightened Inuyasha more than his father ever could.

"I want to step down as CEO. I already have more money than I know what to do with. What's the point of staying there?" Inuyasha's mind had gone blank. He had planned this discussion on the drive over here, but as soon as it came up, his brain turned to mush.

"Takahashi Inuyasha. You will not hand over your father's empire over to someone unworthy of the title. If you wish to step down, wait until you have an heir."

"Mother, I never have time for anything but work, let alone a love life." Inuyasha's voice had dropped, "Why can't Sesshomaru just take over?"

"Sesshomaru has already established his practice. He-"

"Why wasn't I given that chance!? Why was I the one forced to give up what I loved to take over Father's empire?" Inuyasha's free hand curled into a fist as anger rose up within him, visible in his golden eyes.

"Because your father knew he was dying!" Izayoi's eyes swelled with tears and Inuyasha stood shocked. "He had known for months, but he refused to tell you and your brother. He didn't want you to worry about him. He forced you to take over because it would have been easier to place you then to convince Sesshomaru to drop his practice. He loved you, Inuyasha, and don't ever think for a second that he didn't." Tears fell freely down her cheeks at this point, "If you want to step down, please, I beg you, just wait a little bit longer."

Inuyasha's heart shattered seeing his mother completely break down. Instinctively, he enveloped his mother in his arms, gaining curious looks from the surrounding people. "I'm sorry. I'll never bring it up again. I love you." Inuyasha kissed his mother's cheek.

Izayoi shook her head, "I know it wasn't fair to you, and I'm sorry. We just wanted the best for you."

Inuyasha kissed her cheek once more, "Let's get you home." Inuyasha took her arm and began the journey back to his car.

 

**.xx.**

 

Kagome sat in the living room of her house. Taking the kids out for ice cream had been a more exhausting task than she had anticipated. Sango had stuck around to spend time with Kagome and her kids, and discussed the possibility of going with Kagome tomorrow to Shikon No Tama, which after hours of discussion, Kagome finally agreed to. Now, she sat on the sofa, pondering anxiously, what tomorrow was going to bring. The thought of failure frightened Kagome to no end.

The ringing of Kagome's phone jolted her from her thoughts. She answered it quietly, hoping not to wake anyone in the house. "Hello?"

A deep, gruff voice breathed into the receiver, "Kagome."

"Onigumo."

"How are the kids?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kagome snarled into the receiver.

"Watch your tone, bitch. They're as much mine as they are yours."

"No, Naraku. They're not. You haven't called, you haven't seen them. Everyday, I sit here and they ask where you are, if you're going to come see them. They asked if you still love them! I honestly have no idea how to answer that because I'm not sure you ever did. So no. Go to hell, Naraku. You abandoned us, when we needed you most." Kagome's anger shook her body relentlessly.

"I can take those kids from you in a heartbeat. So, I'd watch how you talk to me." Naraku's voice became a low whisper.

"How could I forget? You never let me go a day without knowing you were the powerful and almighty asshole? You're just a rich piece of shit." It took Kagome all her willpower not to yell into the receiver. "Stay the fuck away from my kids." Then she slammed the phone down. Kagome buried her face in her hands and let out a low growl. Kagome jolted from her hands when a soft voice broke the silence.

"Mommy?" Sakura stood at the bottom of the staircase, rubbing her eyes. Kagome smiled at her daughter.

"Come here, baby." Kagome held out her arms and Sakura immediately walked over and crawled into Kagome's lap. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Kagome asked as she kissed Sakura's forehead.

"Yes. I heard you saying bad words." Sakura snuggled up against Kagome's chest.

"I'm sorry. Mommy was just frustrated." Kagome stroked Sakura's hair as Sakura closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep. Kagome smiled at the small child in her arms then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you." Kagome stared at Sakura's gentle face.

_Kagome was being wheeled down to the delivery room. Her contractions had gotten worse and became extremely painful over the last hour. Her doctor said that she was dialated enough to begin pushing. "No! Not yet! I must wait for Naraku! I don't want to do this alone." She began to sob openly, tears streaming down her red cheeks. Naraku hadn't called or shown up since she had arrived at the hospital the day before._

_"I'm sorry, Kagome. We can't wait any longer. He will still have time to get here while we prep you, but we need to get you pushing as soon as possible." The doctor's unnaturally golden eyes sparkled down at her, but there was one thing that struck her as odd. She knew for a fact that this doctor wasn't an obstetrician, but her body was in too much pain to comment on that fact. The doctor then turned to one of the nurses, "Get her in the room and prepped within ten minutes, I'll be there shortly to deliver the child." The doctor smiled down at her then left her side._

_Kagome let out another loud scream as she reached the fifth hour of her labor. The pain was excruciating. Sweat soaked her entire body, her face was a deep red, she gritted her teeth every time she was told to push, and yet, there was still no Naraku. It was just her, the doctor and several nurses. She pushed with all her strength, but if she continued, she would black out. "I can't! I can't keep doing this!"_

_The doctor look at Kagome with his golden eyes, it was all she could she because the rest of his face was covered. "I understand it hurts, and I know you're scared, but I know you've done this once before already." He stroked the hair away from her face. "You can do this. I just need a few more strong pushes."_

_Kagome nodded silently, and continued to push. She pushed for another to hours before the cries of a new born baby filled the room. A feeling of relief rushed over Kagome as she sat the panting heavily and sweating. Her vision was blurry, but she could tell that the nurses were washing her baby. After several minutes, the doctor turned around holding her baby that was wrapped in a pink blanket._

_"Miss Kagome, I'd like to introduce you to your daughter." The doctor handed her daughter over to her and looked on as Kagome teared up. She had just given birth to her second child, and the man that had blessed her with her daughter wasn't around to share the amazing and intimate moment. She had shared the moment with a room full of people she had only known for twenty-four hours, and the doctor she had met only hours before being wheeled off to the delivery room. She looked around the room, tears in her eyes, and smiled._

_She looked directly at the doctor, "Thank you." Although, she couldn't see it, she knew the doctor had smiled at her._

Kagome had never learned the name of the doctor that delivered her baby, but she was forever in his debt. He refused to let her give up and gave her the only moral support she received during the labor. She looked down at Sakura, who had fallen asleep against Kagome's chest. She quietly stood, holding Sakura in her arms, and carried her back up to her room. She set her down gently, kissed her forward once more, and left the room. Kagome needed to get some sleep, if she were to have any chance of being fully functional tomorrow at Shikon No Tama. She fell face first into the sofa and quickly slipped into her dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Therefore, there's no need to sue me or any of that nonsense. Thank you!**

 

**.xx.**

 

A loud buzzing noise woke Miroku from his slumber as he groaned loudly and reached over, slamming his fist onto the clock. His alarm went off at the same time every morning. Seven o'clock. He pushed himself from his bed and staggered into his bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He rubbed his eyes a bit before running a hot shower. He gathered his uniform and boxer briefs then returned to the bathroom.

 _I hope something interesting happens today. My life needs some excitement._ Miroku thought to himself as he slipped off his briefs and stepped into the shower. As the hot water hit his naked body, his muscles relaxed. His body was still tired from his late night activites. Matsu had called him shortly after he had gotten home, asking to come by and talk. Miroku knew what she had in mind, so obviously, he agreed. What Miroku didn't expect was for Matsu to show up with another woman. Miroku barely had time to close his front door before the two women started to attack his body hungrily.

 _I don't even remember the other woman's name._ Miroku chuckled to himself as he began to shampoo his hair. His hair became a fluff of suds, before he began to wash his body. He whistled to himself, swinging his head around, causing suds to fly everywhere. Suddenly, his eyes began to water and burn.

"I'm dying! Oh, shit. My eyes are going to fall out!" He tried his best to rub whatever had gotten into his eyes out. He pushed his face under the stream of hot water, relaxing as the burning sensation slowly went away. Miroku sighed to himself but froze when he heard his bathroom door open. "Hello?" He called out. He didn't receive an answer, but he could see a shadow walking against the shower curtain. He moved as far back as he possibly could in the shower, trying his best to prepare himself for who ever was out there. He watched as the shower curtain pushed openly slowly, revealing to him a naked female body. It was the female that Matsu had brought with her last night. Her bright blue eyes sparkled against the dim bathroom lights and her blue hair hung loosely behind her. Instantly, his eyes dropped down to her large breasts, and he felt himself get hard.

"Well, good morning to you too, Miroku." The woman smiled at him seductively and stepped into the shower with him.

"Uh, what are you still doing here? I thought you left with Matsu?" He stammered, trying to hide the massive erection he currently had.

"You don't remember us falling asleep right after little 'session'?" She grinned at him, stepping closer to his body, "Matsu left without me, but I'm not complaining."

"I don't even remember your name." There was about eleven inches of space between them, and that's only because Miroku anatomy was at full salute and poking her in the waist.

"My name is Kurumu, and seems like someone is happy to see me." She winked at him and sunk to her knees in front of him. "May I?"

Before Miroku could answer, she began doing heavenly things to Miroku's body. _Well, this is definitely a good way to start my day._ He thought to himself, letting the girl take control of his body. It was going to be an interesting day indeed.

.xx.

 

Kagome arrived at Sango's around ten in the morning. She had left her house early, after making Shiro and Sakura breakfast, and kissing them goodbye. The walk to Sango's had been completely uneventful. No rain. No gorgeous men with golden eyes and silver hair. Nothing. Sango was busy cleaning her house when Kagome showed up. Sango's hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, like always, but she only wore a thong and an apron, which didn't cover much of her chest.

"Sango? What the hell are you wearing?" Kagome asked, staring wide eyed at her friend, who was dancing merrily around the house with a broom.

"An apron? Isn't that what this is?" Sango asked tugging on the apron, giving Kagome a full view of her naked chest.

"You have issues, girl." Kagome made her way into Sango's kitchen, "Put some damn clothes on!" She called out to her, before sitting at the table. She sat there for nearly twenty minutes before Sango came stumbling into the kitchen.

"What put you in a bad mood this morning?" Sango asked, adjusting her shirt as she sat across from Kagome.

"Naraku called me last night." Kagome replied softly. Sango growled hearing Naraku's name.

"Why? Hasn't that asshole done enough damage already?"

"He wanted to know how the kids were doing. I basically told him to go screw himself after he threatened to take them away from me." Kagome buried her face in her hands, surpressing the yell of frustration that was rising in her throat.

"What an asshole. If I ever see him, I swear I'll kill him." Sango growled again.

"I doubt he'll ever come around. There's no point in him to. He doesn't care about the kids. He was in now way ready to be a father, and he's just an arrogant prick." Kagome paused and looked at her watch, "We should get going, Sango. I don't want to be late for my first day at Shikon No Tama."

Sango nodded and stood from the table, gathering her keys and purse, "Are you nervous?"

Kagome gave Sango a dumb look, "Wouldn't you be nervous? I mean, come on now. Some random lady walked into our job, told off our boss, and offered me a job that was ten times better than what I was doing. So, yeah. I'm nervous."

"Honey, you really need to get laid. Your hormones are all whacked out." Sango giggled, receiving a punch in the arm from Kagome.

"Let's just go." Kagome smirked at her friend as she led her from the house. Kagome stood beside Sango's beat up beetle. Once, Sango unlocked it and they quickly hopped inside. The drive was silent. Kagome was too busy thinking about Naraku, and where their relationship had gone wrong. They had been together six years before Shiro was born, but Kagome could never figure out when they're relationship went sour.

_The senior class of Samurai High School had just completed their graduation ceremony. Cheers erupted from the class and everyone that had come to watch the event and hats flew in every direction. Students hugged their friends, their sweethearts, even people they barely knew. Kagome was talking to one of her classmates when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Kagome squealed as the person grabbing her, lifted her from the ground and spun her in a circle. Once, she was set down, she turned and faced her boyfriend, Naraku Onigumo, with a huge smile plastered on her face._

_"Congratulations, baby." He whispered to her, placing his forehead against hers, planting a passionate kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled as he nipped at her earlobe._

_"And to you as well, good sir." She hugged him tightly. She was completely happy being in his arms._

_"Are you ready?" He asked her softly._

_She looked at him with a raised brow, "Ready for what?"_

_"This is the beginning of the rest of our lives together." He gave her the most gorgeous smiled she'd ever seen, and it melted her._

_"Yes." She smiled and kissed him deeply once again._

Kagome jerked herself from her memory, once she felt Sango begin to slow down. She hadn't even realized that they had already arrived at Shikon No Tama. Kagome looked around as Sango pulled the car to a stop.

"Well, we're here!" Sango said cheerfully, bouncing in her chair like a hyper child.

"Please, calm down, Sango. Don't embarrass me in there. I really want this job." Kagome pleaded with her friend.

Sango pouted, "Fine. I'll behave." Kagome smiled at Sango, and they both got out of the girl, making their way to the entrance of Shikon No Tama.

 _Well, here goes nothing._ Kagome took a deep breath, before opening the door and walking inside.

 

**.xx.**

 

Rin was sitting in her office, which was located beside Miroku's, running a background check on Kagome Higurashi. She was rather impressed with everything she was reading about this girl. There was only one thing that bothered her, after Kagome's twentieth birthday, all records show that she fell off the face of the planet. It was as if she never existed beyond that. It puzzled Rin, and it worried her. She could tell this girl wouldn't be an issue but something about her records still bothered her.

"Excuse me. Mrs. Takahashi?" Kusano said as she knocked on Rin's door.

"Yes, Kusano. What can I do for you?" Rin asked turning to look at the younger girl, leaning back in her chair.

"There's a Kagome Higurashi here to see you."

"Thank you." Rin smiled at the girl and stood from her desk. So, she had decided to show up after all. Rin straightened out her dress as she made her way through the kitchen and out into the dining area. She spotted Kagome and another attractive looking woman standing near the entrance. She casually walked over to them, with a smile on her face, and extended her hand once she reached them. "It's nice to see you again, Kagome."

"You as well, Rin. Thank you so much for this opportunity. It means so much to me." Kagome smiled at Rin then turned to Sango, "This is my friend, Sango. She worked with me at the diner."

Rin looked at the girl and extended her hand to her, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sango."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Rin. I have always wanted to see this place, and even work here. This place is amazing!"

Rin smiled and thought about offering her a job as well, but then she remembered what Miroku had told her. _Do not hire anyone else without consulting me first._ "You can apply if you want. We're always looking for help." Rin stepped behind the Hostess' podium to grab an application when a voice came from behind her.

"That won't be necessary Rin." Miroku had come out of the kitchen and saw the two girls standing with Rin.

"Ah, Miroku. Right on time." She turned to the girls, "This is Miroku Lin, the owner and Master Chef of Shikon No Tama."

Miroku greeted Kagome, but kept his eyes transfixed on Sango. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome." Miroku extended his hand to her, which she shook happily, then he extended his to Sango, "And you are?"

Sango blushed beneath Miroku's gaze. "Sango."

"Such a beautiful name." Miroku brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. A jolt of electricity ran through Sango's body. Something about this man's lips on her kiss made her weak in the knees, and he had noticed it.

"Thank you." Sango blushed furiously, even after Miroku released her hand.

"So, are you ready Kagome?" Rin asked, after elbowing Miroku in the side.

"Yes. A bit nervous, but ready." She smiled at Rin.

"Did you not come here to work?" Miroku asked Sango with a raised brow.

"Oh no, I just drove Kagome here. I have a job."

"Ah, well, I'd be honored if you came to work for me." He gave Sango a smile, that completely turned her to mush. The beauty of this man was outrageous. His gorgeous hazel eyes sparkled with mischief, his extraordinarily, white smile made Sango's heart pound.

"Miroku, weren't you just telling me yesterday not to hire anyone without putting them through the application process?" Rin said, giving Miroku a funny look.

"Ah, of course." Miroku nodded his head. "Sango, my dear." He looked at her, "Work history?"

"Excuse me?" Sango asked turning to look at Rin then back at Miroku.

"Work history." He repeated.

"Uh, I've been a waitress for almost five years."

"You're hired!" He grinned at Rin, "There, application process is done. Let's get to work, shall we?" Rin rolled her eyes, but nodded. "So, I know both of you have never set foot in this place, so let me tell you now. It gets ridiculously busy around lunch time. You'll more than likely end up with twenty to thirty tables during the rush. Now, the menu is rather unique. We're the only restaurant in the city to offer cuisines from all over the world. So, even if it isn't on the menu, we probably still make it, but don't worry. It's only the usual customers that have realized that, so you won't have to deal with that often." He turned to look at the two woman, "Am I going to fast?" He asked stopping before entering the kitchen. The girls shook their heads. "Okay, good. This is the kitchen." He pushed open the doors and revealed a kitchen nearly twice the size of the dining area.

"Oh my, the kitchen is huge." Kagome looked around in awe. Even, now the kitchen was alive with movement.

"Yes, it must be. We must have a separate station for every different kind of cuisine. I've learned over the years, that even after being cleaned, the grill will leave traces of the previous cuisine and blend the flavors together, which isn't always a good taste." He walked over to Kasuke, who was currently preparing a sushi dish. "This is my assistant chef, Kasuke. He originally started off as a waiter, but I put him through Culinary school." He patted Kasuke on the shoulder, who gave him a nod in return. "With the size of this place, I need a minimum of twenty-five chefs in order to run everything smoothly and without having to overwork the other chefs, but I only have thirteen chefs, including myself. So, if you ever feel like you can handle the responsibilities of being a chef, I'd be more than happy to send you to Culinary school, or any school in fact, as long as you work here."

Miroku led them out of the kitchen, through the dining area into another large room connected by a short hallway. "This is the bar area. This room is only ever busy at night, but it's so busy that I need to hire more bartenders to keep up with the demands." He pointed to a beautiful woman, standing behind the bar. "That's Ruby, she's been the only steady bartender we've had since we've opened this place. She loves it, but even she gets overwhelmed sometimes, so Rin will come back here and help." Miroku led them to table and asked them to sit, "So, what position would you ladies like to have?"

Kagome looked at Sango, who only shrugged. "I thought I was being hired on a waitress?"

"If that's what you desire, but I always like ask after giving the tour, just in case they spot something else they may want to do." Miroku kept his gaze locked on Sango, which made her blush even more than she already had been.

"Can we switch positions later? In case we change our minds." Kagome asked, glancing between her hands, Miroku and Rin.

"Of course. Just talk to either Miroku or myself, and we'll get you set up." Rin gave Kagome a wild smile.

"I'll be a waitress for now."

Miroku nodded acknowledging that he understood, then turned to Sango, "And you?"

Sango blushed heavily beneath Miroku's gaze, "How many bartenders do you have?"

Miroku grinned, "As of right now, just Ruby." Sango was about to speak but Miroku cut her off, "But first, I want you to take a look at what she's wearing."

Kagome and Sango turned to look at the girl behind the bar. Ruby was wearing a red blouse with a deep v-cut, showing off most of her cleavage, with a black vest over it. Her black lace bra was clearly visible from where they were sitting. Sango turned back to Miroku, "Is she required to dress like that?"

Miroku chuckled and shook his head, "Oh no. She chooses to dress that way and with good reason."

"And what reason is that?"

"Men and some women will give her outrageous tips for how she looks. I've seen her make nearly four thousand in one night, and it wasn't even a busy night. So, I'm not saying you have to dress like that, but it might help get you extra money." Miroku grinned at her, "Still want to be a bartender?"

Sango nodded, "I think I can handle that."

"Awesome. Let's get you ladies started. Kagome, you'll come with me. Sango, Rin will get you all set up back here and introduce you to Ruby." Miroku stood from the table, shook Sango's hand and led Kagome back towards the dining area. "So, I see you came dressed to work. I like that."

"Rin told me I'd be working today."

"What time would you like to work until?"

"You're letting me make my own schedule?" Kagome stared at him dumbfounded.

"Why, yes. See, I usually let my waiters and waitresses pick their schedule, because I can always hire more to fill in the gaps." Miroku smiled at her, while picking up a tray and notebook.

"Wow, that's so awesome of you."

"So, what'll it be?"

Kagome thought of an answer for a minute, before answering, "I guess until close."

"Not the answer I was expecting, but I can't let you do that. That'll be a fourteen hour shift. You can stay until eleven tonight, and we'll talk about your schedule when you get off. Okay?"

Kagome nodded, and accepted the tray and notebook Miroku gave to her. Miroku called over one of the other waitresses and told her to show Kagome her section, then disappeared back into the kitchen. _I think I'm really going to like this job._ Kagome thought to her self as she followed the waitress to her tables. Kagome's day was off to a great start.

 

**.xx.**

 

Inuyasha sat at his desk reviewing the files he had asked Yura to sort the previous day, which she had done a fantastic job. He was almost three quarters of the way done, but he had been sitting there all morning. He was in a pleasant mood today, after finding his painting yesterday at the market. He had brought Yura breakfast from Shikon No Tama, which she almost fell over from shock, and had offered to buy her lunch but she refused because she had a lunch date with her friend. He still had another six hours until he got to leave TGE. Right now, he was looking over reports from Shikon No Tama. Although, he left Miroku and Rin in charge of everything, he liked to keep a careful watch over everything, in case they needed help.

 _Takahashi, sir. Lin is on line one._ Yura's voice came from the intercom.

"Thank you, Yura." He responded then answered the phone, "What's up, Miroku?"

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Some of the walls here are kind of plain, and could use some decorating." Miroku's voice was a bit hesitate, which surprised Inuyasha because Miroku was never scared to ask Inuyasha anything.

"Uh huh." Inuyasha mumbled, still looking at the reports.

"I was wondering if maybe, I could buy some of your paintings to hang up on the blank walls?" Miroku's voice went quite.

Inuyasha chuckled, "You were scared to ask me that?"

"Was I not supposed to be? I just know how you feel about your paintings."

Inuyasha grinnned to himself, "You can have some paintings. On one condition."

Miroku paused for a moment then said, "Name it."

"Nobody is to know who painted them, not even Rin. So, no plaque, or scripture or anything that'll say my name. Got it?" Inuyasha tossed the finished reports aside and kicked up his feet on his desk.

"You have my word." Miroku replied, who coincidentally was in the exact same position as Inuyasha.

"Okay. Are you busy?" Inuyasha asked, looking at his watch which read five in the afternoon.

"Nope, it's slow right now."

"Alright, meet me at my place in twenty, so you can pick which paintings you want." Inuyasha sat up straight and logged off from his computer.

"I'll be there." Then Miroku hung up.

Inuyasha grinned to himself then pressed the intercom button, "Yura?"

Yes, Takahashi, sir?

"Are you busy?" Inuyasha was smiling widely.

 _Well, of course, sir. We're always busy._ Yura's voice held a sarcastic tone, which made Inuyasha snicker.

"Well, good. Tell everyone to go home. We're done for today." Inuyasha wasn't positive, but he could swear he heard Yura scream before letting go of the intercom button. Inuyasha gathered his keys and jacket, and made his way out of the building. It was starting to get cold, with winter right around the corner. Inuyasha stared across the road, and saw a hooded man. He couldn't be sure but he thought the man was staring right at him. Inuyasha moved away from the entrance of TGE, towards the parking garage for the building. He turned back slowly and saw that the man was gone. _Am I seeing shit now?_ Inuyasha shook the feeling off and got in his car.

"Maybe I should get out more." Inuyasha sighed to himself before pulling out of the garage and pulling out into the street. The drive home was filled with honking, music, yelling and cussing. Inuyasha wasn't a calm driver. He hated driving slow and he hated people that drove like idiots. Luckily, Inuyasha managed to make it home before he murdered anyone for the fun of it. Miroku was already waiting for him outside the building.

"You sure do take a long time to get here." Miroku grinned at Inuyasha, but Inuyasha growled in response. "Geez, someone got a dog shoved up their ass."

"Whatever, Miroku." Inuyasha opened the building and led Miroku through the lobby towards the elevators. "How was work?"

"Pretty good. Hired two new girls today."

"Are they attractive?" Inuyasha glanced at Miroku curiously.

"Oh, extremely. Kagome is beautiful, but Sango. Oh dear, Sango is the most gorgeous creature I've ever laid eyes on." Miroku's smiled widened as he thought about his new bartender.

"Kagome? I recognize that name, but I can't think of where." Inuyasha stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button to the tenth floor.

"If I'm correct, it's a pretty common name. Maybe you've heard it from clients." Miroku leaned against the back of the elevator.

"It's possible." Inuyasha remained quiet, trying to think of where he heard the name Kagome from, but nothing came to his mind. The elevator rang, alerting its passengers that it had reached its destination. Once the doors slid open, Inuyasha and Miroku stepped out. "Do you have an idea of which paintings you want to display?"

Miroku shook his head and sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen any of them, that I can't really remember all of them."

They reached Inuyasha's condo and he unlocked the door and pushed it open, "Well, let's take a refresher course." Inuyasha grinned, pushing open the door. Once inside, time flew by rather quickly. Miroku went from painting to painting, picking which ones he wanted to display in Shikon No Tama. By the end of it, he had picked a total of twelve of Inuyasha's best works. Inuyasha smiled at his friend, "Think you have enough there?"

"I could always take a few more." Miroku replied with a smirk.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Inuyasha picked up some of the paintings in his arms, "Come on. I'll help you load them up." Miroku led Inuyasha back down to his car, arranging the paintings as best he could in his car. Miroku hugged Inuyasha goodbye and got in his car.

"Hey, if you're not busy later, swing by. We can have a few drinks." Miroku said, putting his arm out of his window.

"I'll be there around eleven." Inuyasha responded turning back to the building, after Miroku gave him a nod. Inuyasha's mind wandered back to the hooded man he had seen across the street from TGE. _I swear that guy was looking right at me. There's just no way he wasn't._ He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the eerie feeling that had crept upon him. _I'll just take a nap until I go to Shikon._ He thought to himself after entering his condo, that now seemed larger with some of his paintings gone.

.xx.

 

Sango was doing outstandingly well for her first night as a bartender and had already made well over six hundred dollars. Now, the rush was starting to hit and Rin showed up behind the bar to lend a helping hand.

"How are you holding up, Sango?" Rin asked, grabbing a man a beer.

"Oh, great! I love this!" Sango replied cheerfully, pouring a shot of jager for an older woman, who then tipped Sango another twenty dollars. "And, it's such easy money."

Rin giggled at the comment, "Sometimes it is. It can be hard work though." Rin looked over Sango. She had removed her shirt after an hour of being behind the bar, leaving only her bra, and showing off her large breasts. "I see you took to Miroku's advice."

Sango blushed, "Yeah, but it got really hot back here. So, it wasn't intentional." Rin laughed loudly, which made Sango blush harder.

"I'm sure that's why your shirt came off."

"But-" Sango was going to try to defend herself, when she caught sight of a flash of silver. Immediately, her head snapped in the direction she had seen it, and her eyes fell upon an extremely handsome man with long silver hair and golden eyes. He was tall and muscular. He walked up to the bar with a large grin on his face. He eyed Sango, then turned to Rin.

"Glass of Sake. Thanks gorgeous." He spoke to Rin in a soft, seductive voice, which Sango noticed, obviously effected Rin greatly. He turned his attention to Sango, "You're the new bartender?"

"Yes, I am." Sango said with a smile.

The man eyed her again, his grin growing wider, "I can see why Miroku hired you. Your tits are the size of watermelons."

Sango's jaw dropped. Anger rose with her and she was about to retaliate when Rin walked up, "Here you go baby." Rin said, placing the sake in fron of the man. "Sango, I'd like you to meet my husband. Doctor Sesshomaru Takahashi." Sesshomaru turned to Sango, raising his glass to her before taking a gulp.

"Your husband? You're married?" Sango's mind just exploded. She hadn't taken Rin for a marriage kind of girl.

"Well, yes. Do I look like a Takahashi to you?"

"No, but you sure act like one." Sesshomaru mumbled into his glass before taking another drink." Rin smacked his arm, gaining a snicker from him.

"I had no clue you were married." Sango quickly made five shots of Jack Daniels for a large man that had just entered the bar.

"Well, I guess I kind of did forget to mention that." Rin blushed slightly.

In the dining area, Kagome's night was going just as well as Sango's. She had made about fifty dollars less than Sango, but had been busy almost all day. Now, it was almost her scheduled time to go home per Miroku's orders. So, she went to the back to find Miroku. He was just entering his office when she called out to him.

"Miroku!" Kagome called out, walking quickly passed the kitchen area.

"Yes, Kagome?" Miroku said, taking off his chef's shirt, revealing a tight fitting purple tanktop.

"You told me to come talk to you about my schedule when I got off."

"Ah, yes. Do me a favor, and empty out the trash cans really quick, then we'll talk. Okay?" Miroku patted her shoulder and she nodded. Kagome quickly gathered the bags of trash from all the trashcans, and replacing the bags in the cans she emptied. She carried the bags out to the back alleyway where the dumpster was. As she exited the back door, she noticed three men wearing hoods standing at the end of the alleyway. She quickly tossed the bags in the dumpster and looked at the men again, who had gotten closer.

"Well, would you look at this fine piece of ass?" One of the men's gruff voice rang out in the alleyway as they grew closer to Kagome. Kagome stared at the men in fear, she was backed in a corner with no way to get back to the door she just exited.

"It looks like she's trapped." One of the other men said, she could feel them eyeing her like a pack of rabid wolves.

"Leave me alone." Kagome tried to state sternly, but her voice was shaking.

"Get her." One of the men snapped his fingers and the other two charged forward, seizing her arms. She struggled against their strength, and did her best to kick them off of her.

"GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed, trying pull her arms free as she felt hands start to roam over her body.

"Oh, damn. She has a nice set of tits." One of the men growled, trying to force Kagome's legs apart.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" Kagome screamed as tears began to fall from her eyes. When she started her day, she wasn't expecting to end it by getting raped in an alleyway behind her new job.

Inuyasha had just parked his car at the TGE parking garage, and began walking down to Shikon No Tama. It was strangely quiet for a Saturday night, but Inuyasha didn't mind. He could hear cars and birds in the distance, but mostly he heard the sound of his own footsteps. He was about a block away from Shikon, when a scream pierced the night. The scream shocked him for a moment, but then he broke into a run. Just as he neared Shikon, another scream echoed into the night. Inuyasha dashed into the alleyway, to see three men in hoodies, attacking a girl. Her blouse had been ripped open and her breasts were out for the whole world to see.

"Leave her alone!" Inuyasha charged the three men, shocking them as they turned to see Inuyasha running at them. Inuyasha kicked one of them in the ribs, causing him to double over from loss of breath. A punch grazed Inuyasha's jaw but he quickly shook it off, attacking with a left hook, catching the man in the eye. Inuyasha quickly took the opening to stand in front of the woman, shielding her from their eyes. Inuyasha slipped off his jacket and placed it around the girl, before getting punched in the back of the head.

Inuyasha's vision went blurry, but he still managed to land another two punches on the girl's attackers. He shoved one man away from him, dodged a punch from another, before getting tangled up with the third.

"Look out!" Kagome screamed, when she spotted one of them grab something from their pocket. Before Inuyasha could react, a shot rang out in the alleyway. Inuyasha's vision went black and he crumbled to the floor. The men quickly retreated from the alleyway when the back door of Shikon slammed open and Miroku stepped out holding a glock of his own.

Kagome knelt beside the man that had rescued her, turning him over so his face wasn't in the ground. She gasped when she saw his face. _It's him._ It was the man that had given her the ride to the diner. His hair was soaked in blood, and so was a bit of his face.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" Miroku rushed over to her side checking on her.

"Yes, I'm fine, but-" Kagome turned to Inuyasha, with tears streaming down her face. Miroku followed her gaze and his heart stopped.

"Inuyasha! No. No. No. No. No!" Miroku dropped his glock and checked his pulse, it was there but it was faint. He turned to Kagome, "Go find Rin! Go! Hurry!" Miroku yelled at her, not caring if she noticed the tears coming from his eyes. Kagome nodded dumbly then raced inside to get Rin. Miroku gripped Inuyasha's shirt tightly, fits of sobs taking over his body, "Don't die on me you bastard." Miroku dropped his head against Inuyasha's motionless body. He cried even harder feeling Inuyasha's breaths getting shorter. He looked down the alley, hearing sirens and then the screaming of Rin. _Please. Don't die on me, Inuyasha._ The last thing Miroku remembered seeing was the alleyway fill with lights, and Rin pulling him away, then Miroku's vision went black as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Therefore, there's no need to sue me or any of that nonsense. Thank you!**

**.xx.**

Kagome found herself at the hospital less than fifteen minutes after everything happened in the ally behind Shikon No Tama. Somehow, Rin had dragged her and Miroku to the hospital, and now they sat in the lobby waiting for any information about the man Miroku had called Inuyasha. Rin was pacing in front of Kagome and Miroku, biting at her nails until they became red and irritated.

"What the hell happened back there?" Rin whispered harshly to Kagome. Kagome took a quick glance at Rin. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying, dried streaks of tears lined her cheeks, and Rin's masscara had smeared slightly.

"I already told you Rin. I told Kagome to take out the trash, she got attacked, Inuyasha came by and saved her and then he got shot." Miroku interjected, knowing Rin was a ticking time bomb at the moment. One wrong word and she'd explode. Miroku turned to Kagome, who mouthed a silent 'thank you' at him.

"Did you see who it was?" Rin's voice was softer now, as she spoke to Kagome.

Kagome shook her head, "No. They were all wearing hoods. I couldn't really see anything."

"Where's Sesshomaru?" Miroku noticed that he hadn't arrived yet, which was weird since he was always at the hospital anyway.

"He went to get Izayoi. Oh god, I don't want to see her cry." Rin sat beside Miroku and burst into tears. Miroku, instinctively, wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Calm down, Rin. He's going to be fine." Miroku stroked Rin's hair in an attempt to soothe her. At that moment, Sesshomaru walked through the doors followed by a very distraught Izayoi. Rin saw her and immediately, left Miroku's arms and ran into Izayoi's.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Rin pleaded into Izayoi's shoulder.

"Stop it, Rin." Izayoi pulled back to look at Rin's eyes, "This wasn't your fault and there was absolutely nothing you could have done to stop it." Kagome watched as the two women hugged each other as if their lives depended on the embrace, and she watched the silver haired man named Sesshomaru speak to one of the nurses.

"I'm Doctor Sesshomaru Takahashi. I want to know where my brother is and what condition he is in. His name is Inuyasha Takahashi. Find him. Now!" Sesshomaru barked at her and the nurse immediately darted away from the counter, picked up the phone and began paging other nurses and other doctors, hoping to find some kind of information on Inuyasha. "I swear the people I work aren't the brightest fucking people."

"Sesshomaru Takahashi! You stop it now!" Izayoi turned from Rin to scold Sesshomaru. "It's not her fault she doesn't recognize you! You never come to this side of the hospital."

"My good looks should get me anything, especially recognition." Sesshomaru mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What good looks?" Miroku teased Sesshomaru, which caused Sesshomaru growl.

"Ask Rin. She married me." Sesshomaru shot back.

"I married you for the money and the power. It had nothing to do with your good looks baby, but they were a bonus." Rin nudged Izayoi, who in turn, laughed at her daughter in law.

"Shut up." Sesshomaru muttered to himself. Kagome stared on at the group that laughed and teased each other even though they were standing in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting to see if Inuyasha was okay. Sesshomaru grumbled to himself as the others continued to tease him, but they stopped when a friend of Sesshomaru's addressed them.

"How's he doing?" Izayoi asked, holding Rin's hands for support, should the doctor reveal bad news.

"He's okay. He's in stable condition. The bullet only grazed him, most of the damaged he received was from passing out and hitting the ground. Other than that, he's doing great. He's asleep right now, but you can go see him. He's in room six-seventeen." The doctor nodded to Sesshomaru then excused himself.

"Should we go see him or let him rest?" Rin asked, looking at Sesshomaru.

"I think it'll be okay if we see him, as long as we're quiet." Miroku responded, wishing to see his best friend.

"I agree with Miroku." Sesshomaru nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Kagome. For a moment, Kagome got lost in the golden orbs that were Sesshomaru's eyes. She felt as if she had seen them before, a long time ago. She had looked into those eyes before, but she couldn't place where, and maybe, now wasn't the time to figure it out. "Would you like to come?"

Kagome looked at the group, then down at her watch, "I really should be getting home. My kids are probably worried about me."

Miroku stepped forward, "Are you sure you're okay, Kagome? Do you need to see a doctor?"

Kagome shook her head, "No. No. I'm fine, really. Go see Inuyasha. I'll head home."

Miroku nodded, "Okay. Why don't you take tomorrow off? Tell Sango to take off as well, I'm sure she's worried about you. I'll call you soon." Miroku kissed her cheek and walked down the hallway with the rest of the group to see Inuyasha. Kagome stared at the group as they walked down the hallway, only turning to leave once they disappeared around a corner. She exited the hallway and let out a sigh of relief as the cool night air engulfed Kagome's body.

 _Damnit! How the hell am I supposed to get home!?_ Kagome dropped her head at the realization that she was all the way across the city from her house. She pulled out her phone and dialed Sango's number.

 _Kagome! Are you okay!? What the hell happened!?_ Sango was basically yelling into the receiver.

"I'm fine, Sango. I promise. I'm here at the hospital because Rin dragged me along." Kagome looked up at the sky as she spoke, "Inuyasha, saved me tonight."

 _How's he doing? Is he-_ Sango's words stopped short, refusing to ask if Kagome's savior was dead.

"He's okay. He's in stable condition. The others went to see him, but I need to get home, do you think you can pick me up?"

 _Of course. I'll be there in fifteen minutes._ Sango replied, then hung up. Leaving Kagome to her thoughts and the cool breeze that was whipping her hair in every direction. Kagome thought back to the golden-eyed, silver haired hero that rescued her tonight.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." She whispered to herself, a smile creeping across her face.

**.xx.**

 

Sesshomaru entered Inuyasha's room first, followed by Izayoi, Rin and lastly, Miroku. Inuyasha looked banged up, he had a bandage wrapped around his head, his face was bruised and his cheeks were swollen. Izayoi, instantly, started crying when her eyes landed on her youngest son. Seeing Izayoi cry, Rin broke down into tears as well, taking her place beside Izayoi and Inuyasha's bedside, while Sesshomaru and Miroku hung back to give the women their space.

Miroku's eyes teared up slightly, but he refused to let himself cry in front of Sesshomaru. He quickly turned to the side, to wipe his eyes but Sesshomaru wasn't stupid. He could tell what Miroku was doing. "Got something in your eye there?"

"Shut up, Sesshomaru." Miroku whispered harshly, causing Sesshomaru to grin.

"Will you two shut it already?" Izayoi whispered harshly back at the two overgrown man children. Izayoi took Inuyasha's hand into her own and gave it a squeeze. She didn't receive a similar notion in return but she was just happy her son was alive. "I love you, Inuyasha."

"Kik-" Inuyasha mumbled, his eyes fluttering rapidly, and suddenly, his grip tightened on Izayoi's hand, "Yo." His heartbeat had quickened, and he gritted his teeth, the veins in his neck visible as he struggled against some unknown force within his mind.

"What's wrong with him?" Izayoi asked holding onto his hand.

"He's probably having realy vivid dreams." Sesshomaru replied, bringing his medical experience into play, "What I don't understand is why he's saying Kikyo? He hasn't said that name in almost eight years."

"Maybe the head trauma brought back old memories?" Miroku suggested, eyeing Inuyasha, who had finally calmed down and laid still.

"It's possible, but we really won't know anything until he wakes up." Sesshomaru grabbed Izayoi's arm gently, "Come on, we should get home. It's late, and it won't do Inuyasha any good if you're sitting here tired and uncomfortable." Izayoi nodded and stood up from her position at Inuyasha's bedside.

"I'll stay here with Inuyasha for the night." Miroku told Sesshomaru taking a seat in one of the chairs beside Inuyasha's bed.

"Okay, I'll be back to check on him in the morning. I'll see you then." Sesshomaru nodded to Miroku then led Izayoi and Rin from the room. Miroku stared at the sleeping face of Inuyasha.

 _What the hell were you thinking you crazy bastard?_ Miroku lowered his head as he spoke to himself. _You could have been killed. Thank you for saving Kagome, but why'd you have to go and get yourself shot?_ Miroku rested his hands on the bed beside Inuyasha. "You're my best friend. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, bro." Miroku spent the next couple of hours talking to Inuyasha even though, Inuyasha was still asleep. Hours seemed to slip by and before Miroku realized it, he, too, had fallen asleep.

**.xx.**

 

Kagome staggered into her home, completely exhausted from today's events. She dropped down onto the sofa when a familiar scent attacked her nose. She looked around and realized she still had Inuyasha's jacket. She hugged the jacket tightly as she laid down on the couch. Tears fell freely down her face, remembering her attackers and how Inuyasha had stood up to them. She remembered how he had given her his jacket so she could cover up. She remembered looking into those big, beautiful, golden eyes for a brief second, then she flinched when the memory of the gunshot echoed in her mind. She cried even harder visualizing his body as it crumpled to the ground after being shot.

She buried her face in the soft material of Inuyasha's jacket as she completely broke down. _I owe that man my life. Who knows what those assholes would have done after they raped me._ Kagome shuddered at another memory that plagued her mind, but quickly she pushed it towards the back of her mind.

"Kagome?" Korari had walked into the living from the kitchen were she had been sitting for nearly an hour.

Kagome looked up at her mother, with red and puffy eyes. "Oh, Mother." More tears fell from Kagome's eyes as her mother rushed over and brought her into her arms.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Korari stroked Kagome's hair as she held onto her daughter for dear life. Kagome attempted to explain to her mother the events of tonight through her crying, which Korari struggled to understand.

"What happened to the Inuyasha boy?"

"He's at the hospital, in stable condition. Oh, Mother. He saved my life. Those bastards could have raped and killed me if he hadn't come along." Kagome said then buried her face in her mother's shoulder once again.

Korari kissed Kagome's head, "It's okay, Kagome. You're safe. Inuyasha is okay. You need to visit that boy when he wakes up." Korari pulled away from Kagome, "Get some sleep. Shiro and Sakura are expecting a fun day tomorrow. So, be prepared."

Kagome released a slight laugh and nodded, "Goodnight, Mother." Kagome leaned back onto the sofa, gripping Inuyasha's jacket tightly as she passed out.

**.xx.**

 

_Inuyasha sat in front of his painting, dipping his brush into a glob of red paint before swiping it across the canvas. It was a beautiful day outside, and he was waiting for Kikyo to call so he could pick her up for their date. She was currently at her doctor's appointment for her yearly check up. Inuyasha had offered to go with her, but she knew Inuyasha hated sitting in the doctor's office so she went alone. He huge smile came across his face as phone rang._

_"Hey baby." Inuyasha answered, wiping his hands on his pants, tucking his phone between his ear and his shoulder._

_"Hey, I have something I need to tell you." Her voice was soft, which made Inuyasha worry._

_"What?"_

_"I'm-" Kikyo let out a deep breath, "You're going to be a father."_

_Inuyasha's breath caught in his lungs as Kikyo's words echoed in his mind. 'You're going to be a father.' Inuyasha grabbed his phone from his shoulder, "I'm going to be a dad?"_

_"Yes, Inuyasha. I'm pregnant."_

_A wide smile crossed, "Oh baby, I could kiss you right now! We're having a baby!"_

_Kikyo let out a soft laugh, "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were going to take that horribly."_

_"No, never baby. I love you. I'm on my way to get you." Inuyasha hung up and let out a howl of joy. He was going to be a dad._


End file.
